- Born
- Died
- Birth nameOscar Nathan Strauss
- Oscar Straus was born on March 6, 1870 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was a composer and writer, known for Married in Hollywood (1929), The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) and The Earrings of Madame De... (1953). He was married to Clara Singer and Nelly Irmen. He died on January 11, 1954 in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, Austria.
- SpousesClara Singer(1908 - January 11, 1954) (his death, 2 children)Nelly Irmen (divorced, 3 children)
- Viennese conductor and composer of operettas, cabaret songs and occasional film music. Straus deliberately changed his surname (from "Strauss") to avoid association with the famous musical dynasty of that name. He was not related.
- Father: Louis Straus; Mother: Gabrealla Stern.
- In 1939, after the Anschluss, he fled to Paris, where he received the honour of a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.
- He wished not to be associated with the musical Strauss family of Vienna. However, he did follow the advice of Johann Strauss II in 1898 about abandoning the prospective lure of writing waltzes for the more lucrative business of writing for the theatre.
- He wrote about 500 cabaret songs, chamber music, and orchestral and choral works. His original name was actually Strauss but for professional purposes he deliberately omitted the final 's'.
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